1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to methods and apparatus for providing access to items to be dispensed, and may find a particular use in the dispensing of medical supplies. The invention further relates maintaining an inventory of the number and type of items dispensed while providing easy and convenient access to the items.
In large medical facilities, inventories of medical supplies are held in storage locations which are often far removed from the patients who use them. To facilitate delivery of the medical supplies from the storage area to the patient, a variety of dispensing systems have been proposed. In one such system, referred to as a "cart exchange" system, dispensing carts are distributed at remote dispensing stations in the medical facility and are periodically exchanged with fully supplied carts. The "used" cart is returned to a central supply area where inventory decreases of particular medical supplies are recorded and the cart is restocked to predetermined "par" levels. These par levels are intended to ensure constant availability of required medical supplies.
In a similar system, individual carts are used but are not removed from their remote locations in the medical facility. Instead, a larger cart holding a variety of medical supplies is circulated throughout the facility to restock individual carts to their par levels.
Although these systems are generally effective in providing medical supplies to remote locations away from the storage area, they suffer from a number of drawbacks. One particular drawback is the potential for stock-outs that can arise if the inventories of the carts are not closely monitored. Adequate inventory monitoring can be problematic due to time limitations on the hospital staff. Depletion of certain items from the carts can pose serious risks to the patients in the medical facility.
To ensure that sufficient supplies are maintained in the carts, overstocking can occur which in turn increases the cost of the medical facility's inventory system by requiring more items to be maintained in inventory than are actually required. Excessive restocking is also demanding on the hospital staff who must devote more of their time to monitoring the carts to ensure that sufficient supplies are available.
Another drawback of the above-described inventory systems is the lack of security provided for the supplies maintained on the carts. Since access to the items can usually be gained without recording user identification information, medical personal may neglect or forget to record removal of the accessed supplies which can introduce errors or inefficiencies into the medical facility's inventory system. Lack of security can also discourage the return of unused supplies. Without a record of user access and removal, medical personnel may often choose to discard the supplies rather than taking the time to return them.
In yet another drawback, no direct data transfer from the supply carts to the hospital inventory and billing systems is provided. This can lead to further inefficiencies in the inventory system.
For these and other reasons, it would be desirable to provide a dispensing system allowing easy and convenient access to the items to be dispensed while also maintaining an accurate inventory (including both removal and replacement) of the number and type of items to be dispensed. Such a system should reduce the possibility of stock outs and provide accountability by controlling access to the supplies and allowing easy return of unused items. The system should also allow for inventories to be maintained at minimum levels and should be able to directly supply inventory information to the medical facility's inventory and billing systems.
2. Description of the Background Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,596 describes a subassembly for use in a medical dispenser station which dispenses pharmaceutical items in single quantities from a locked storage location.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,715,148 describes a medicine dispensing cabinet having a plurality of sliding drawers and a plurality of dispensing trays.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,342 describes a medicine dispensing apparatus for dispensing medicines from a cabinet and into a hopper.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,948 describes a medication dispensing system for dispensing medicines into a receptacle in the bottom of a medicine cabinet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,491 describes a portable medication dispenser for visually and audibly indicating the times at which a patient's medications are to be taken.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,875 describes a medication dispenser having a housing with a plurality of locked drawers which are stocked with selected pharmaceutical items. Access to the items is allowed upon keyboard entry of a predetermined access code.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,045 describes a drug dispensing apparatus for automatically dispensing one or more individual drug doses to a common collection area as required by a patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,793 describes a pharmaceutical dosage distribution apparatus having an enclosure with a door and a plurality of trays.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,942 describes a pharmaceutical storage and dispensing cabinet for dispensing items into a retrieval tray for removal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,360,125 describes a medication dispenser which can provide a medication alert signal in accordance with a desired medication regimen.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,884 describes a portable medical dispensing unit for storing pills. The dispensing unit is programmed with a medication schedule which causes visual and audio signals when it is time for medication to be consumed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,053 describes an apparatus for monitoring and restricting access to individual items which are provided with a unique identifying code. The codes are scanned by a microprocessor to identify removal of the item.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,954 describes a system and method for dispensing medications prescribed by a doctor. The system includes a medical dispenser which can read prescription information from a memory device and make the medications available to the patient at the prescribed times.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,740 describes an inventory management system having a central control unit and a number of parts terminal units that are disposed at each parts container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,969 describes a medication dispensing system for controlled programmed dispensing of medication to a patient and for creating a retrievable patient medication record.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,764 describes a medication dispenser station having rotatable carousels with vertically open compartments containing individual doses of a medication.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,764 describes a system for dispensing medications in a health care institution.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,275 describes a control panel face for mounting to a control member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,928 describes a medication cart for dispensing medicines during a nurse's rounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,660 describes a transaction monitoring and security system for recording data from the sale of articles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,511 describes a pharmaceutical cart for retaining a plurality of dispensing bins on shelves.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,668 describes a medication cart having a base formed of a pair of molded plates interconnected by rails. The plates have molded grooves and holes for receiving structural elements of the cart.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,174 describes a medication delivery device having a housing containing separate storage locations for holding medication dosages away from access by the user.